Exercise During Bar Prep: 4 Ideas To Stay Fit and Focused!

Exercise During Bar Prep: 4 Ideas To Stay Fit and Focused!

When studying for the bar exam, you shouldn’t just be exercising your mind. You should be exercising your body as well! Working out not only helps your body stay healthy but it also helps you relax and de-stress. In this article, I’ll discuss four ways to stay fit and motivated to exercise during bar prep! This will benefit you in the long run. After crushing your workout, when you return to studying, you’ll be relaxed and ready to tackle the rest of bar prep!

Exercise During Bar Prep: 4 Ideas To Stay Fit and Focused!

1. Get outside! Go for a walk/run.

For me, one of the hardest parts of bar prep was that I felt I couldn’t escape it! I constantly thought about it—even when I wasn’t studying. To combat this, I began a walking and running routine. As I was on my walk/run, I let my mind wander. I took a closer look at my surroundings. I noticed things about my neighborhood that I’d never noticed before. Before I knew it, an hour had gone by and I’d covered a large distance. I also realized that simply getting out of my house and leaving bar prep physically behind helped me temporarily forget about bar stress. It was quite literally “Out of sight, out of mind.”

While I used my walks/runs meditatively, you don’t have to. If you prefer to listen to something as you run, download your favorite playlist, and hit the pavement. You can also get an audiobook. We put together a list of the best books and movies to unwind to during the bar exam here. After reading an enormous amount of bar prep materials, the last thing you might want to do is read. Downloading one of our suggested books as an audiobook is a perfect solution! They will help you stay connected to your favorite book without tiring your eyes. They’ll also keep you pleasantly distracted as you go.

Either way, use your time outside, away from your bar prep materials, as a much-deserved mental breather. Keep your bar prep materials (and worries) at home and give your mind a break.

2. If you have to stay inside, find a workout you can do from home!

As I said above, I relished my daily run. However, when it rained, I became frustrated because I couldn’t leave the house. So, when I needed a workout break but had nowhere to go, I turned to the internet. After sifting through many, many videos, I found a short thirty-minute circuit that I still incorporate into my exercise routine today.

Therefore, don’t let bad weather deter you from exercising during bar prep. If you don’t have any workout DVDs or videos available, search the internet for some. There are many free workout circuits out there, ranging anywhere from 10 minutes to one hour. You simply need to type in your specifications (time, type of workout, etc.), and you’ll be ready to go. You’ll never again be able to use bad weather as an excuse not to work out!

We strongly believe in working out while studying for the bar exam. For more information on how exercise can help you, check out this article.

3. Learn to meditate or do yoga.

Exercising during bar prep doesn’t always have to include a high-intensity workout. For example, you could try out yoga or meditation. These types of peaceful activities are both good for your mind and body! They improve flexibility and blood flow. More importantly, they also help clear your mind and prepare it for studying. For example, by focusing your mind on yoga or meditation, you can de-stress and center your thoughts. In doing so, you’ll be able to relax, and this brief pause in studying will allow what you previously learned to “sink in.” That way, when you return to studying, you’ll be relaxed and ready to tackle brand new subjects or return to difficult ones.

4. Find a study buddy who doubles as a workout buddy.

If you’re the type of person who thrives in group activities or who needs another person to motivate you to work out, grab your study buddy! Doing this will help you hold each other accountable. You can also kill two birds with one stone and study as you exercise. Quiz each other as you go or discuss topics that you need to work on. Talking through difficult topics as you exercise should help you comprehend the material and distract you from a tough workout!

As of the time this article is written, we are still battling the COVID-19 pandemic. So if you’re worried about social distancing, you don’t have to exercise with your workout buddy live and in-person. Use any form of digital communication or conferencing software to stay connected! Therefore, even if you’re physically by yourself, you’ll still be able to be social and healthy! Overall, don’t let the pandemic stop you from exercising during bar prep.

Ultimately, exercising during bar prep is extremely feasible. Taking even 15-30 minutes out of your day to get your blood flowing and your heart pumping will help you stay healthy. More importantly, you can use that time to relax your mind. This will alleviate stress, give your mind time to synthesize all the material you learned, and allow you to return to studying refreshed!

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